Tuesday, July 07, 2015

On Pre-All Star Game Coverage

Dear People Who Are Being Paid To Write About The MLB All-Star Game Roster Selections:

Yes, deserving players got left off. This happens every year, for the simple reason that there are more deserving players than slots. This is true even now that the rosters have been expanded to be slightly larger than the population of Uzbekistan.

Yes, players with borderline cases may have made the cut. This is because the rules for selecting the teams are, frankly, bananas.

Yes, there have been some truly awful All-Star selections over the years, including Mike Williams and Sid Monge. This is what happens when you mandate every team get an All-Star and you have some truly wretched teams out there. Alternately, this is what happens when you have guys who get off to ridiculously hot starts but haven't yet done their fade into obscurity before the rosters have been selected. And yes, this means we're sick of hearing about Brian LaHair, All Star. Leave the poor guy be already.

Yes, A-Rod didn't make the game, He doesn't seem to be upset about it. Probably, neither should you.

Yes, there are a lot of Royals in the game. That's because they won a lot of games last year and this year, which kind of implies good players.

Yes, a couple of rookies made the game. A couple of rookies always make the game. This is a good thing, but it is not a surprising thing. Please stop being surprised.

Yes, an old guy who'd never made the team before has made the team. This also happens every year.

Yes, some of the starting pitchers selected for the team won't be able to pitch because of their day job, which is pitching on a regular cycle. This is not a moral failing on their part. It's a scheduling issue.

Yes, we know all these things. If you could find a fresh angle, we'd be grateful.